The Spring Hill Turkey Burn was my third half-marathon. My first was the Tom King Classic where I finished in 2:03:35. My second was the Nashville Rock ‘n’ Roll where I finished in 2:20:29. My goal for the Turkey Burn was to break two hours. It was a beautiful autumn day, excellent running conditions. There were only 140 participants in the half-marathon so there was no crowd problems like I’ve experienced in some races. The Turkey Burn begins at the Tennessee Children’s Home in Spring Hill Tennessee. We ran down a gravel road through farmland looping around a lake. From there we went across Kedron Road, did a lap around Erwin Park, back to Kedron Road, then past a civil war battle field, under Saturn Parkway and about a mile to Royal Park Blvd. This is the beginning of the area where I do my training runs. I’d run this same area on Monday, so this portion of the race was very familiar. There are a few commercial buildings but it’s mainly farms, pastures, woods, and some hills to climb. It seemed odd to run a place I’ve run dozens of times yet it seemed different because it was a race. Instead of running alone as usual I was with all these other people. I reached the seven mile marker right at one hour. I slowed a bit after that. The final mile was the hardest. Rather than the gravel road, they had us run around the other side of the lake, where it was all grass and pine needles. At this point I stepped in a hole. I wasn’t injured but I sure let out a groan. There was a steep climb on grass and needles right before the finish. I crossed the finish line at 1:55:31.

Hardly any running this week. At the first of the week I was recovering from my half-marathon. Wednesday and Thursday stuff came up. I couldn’t run Friday because I was going to run a race Saturday morning. The 12 South Winter Warm Up 12k begins at Sevier Park in Nashville. I ran this same race two years ago, but then I ran the 6k rather than the 12. I didn’t really set a goal for this race. I wanted to run it at a faster average pace than I had run the Franklin Classic, but I wasn’t really that concerned. I started near the front like I had at the Franklin Classic and again I started out too fast. According to my Fitbit app I covered the first mile in 7:48, I slowed to 8:48 for the second mile and 9:18 for the third. I picked up the pace after that and finished with an official chip time of 1:02:03.62.

”I think impossible is a stupid word. Nothing is impossible if you agree to pay the price for your dreams.” ~ Serge Roetheli

I watched a documentary on Hulu called The 25,000 Mile Love Story. It recounts the tale of the fascinating adventure of Serge Roetheli and his wife Nicole traveling the Run For Kids World Tour. The tour’s purpose was to raise money and awareness for impoverished children. Serge ran the entire distance and Nicole followed on a motorbike pulling their supply cart. During their five year journey they traveled six continents and 35 countries. Along the way they encountered many perils including African civil wars, hostile natives, arid desert heat, jungles, mosquitoes, malaria, wild animals, snakes, monsoons, floods, snow and ice storms. In India, Serge was hit by a car and broke his elbow. Two years into the tour the Roethelis’ charity partner abandoned the mission. The Roethelis continued on their own for over a year before finding a new sponsor. They ultimately raised over $400,000 for impoverished and sickly children.

The sights in the documentary are spectacular as the Roethelis sojourned in places the typical tourist would never experience. The Roethelis also visited many poor and sick children in orphanages as part of their mission. The Roethelis living conditions during the tour were very rough, sleeping most nights in a pup tent and cooking on a wood campfire. They said they ate the same meal over and over: spaghetti with tomato sauce and canned tuna. Interestingly this documentary is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone claim that Coke Cola is good for long distance running. According to Serge Coke Cola has just the right amount of calories and it’s easy on his stomach. The 25,000 Mile Love Story is an excellent documentary. It’s uplifting, informative, and inspiring.

”You’re a gazelle, man. You’re a cheetah. You know I’ve got some students that come out here because it’ll look good on their resumes, which is fine. And I’ve got some students who should really take up golf, or bowling, something they can drink beer while they’re doing it because they’re never going to amount to much as a runner. And every now and then I get a runner who wants to dedicate themselves to the purest, most natural sport there is—no balls, no bats, no pads—all you need for running is your heart, and your soul. The Greeks ran in the nude, did you know that? Children play tag. Horses race. Dogs run for fun. Everybody runs man, they like it, but not you, huh?” ~ Coach K in 1 Mile to You

I watched a movie on Netflix called 1 Mile to You. It’s a fictional movie about a high school track athlete named Kevin Shuler. At the start of the movie Kevin is involved in a track meet with his high school team. He is with his girlfriend when another kid comes over and wants to run Kevin’s event and Kevin agrees. The coach is annoyed because the kids didn’t get his approval for the switch. They’re all getting on the bus to go home. The coach who is also the bus driver asks Kevin, “Did you tell my daughter you love her, yet?” The coach/driver then closed the bus doors and drives off without Kevin. Apparently Kevin’s girlfriend was also the coach’s daughter. The bus gets in an accident and everyone onboard dies. As though this weren’t bad enough, due to the loss of these students Kevin’s small rural school had to close and he had to transfer to a larger school in another district. The rest of the movie is Kevin getting over his grief and survivor's guilt. He does this with the help of his new coach and through lots of running. While running Kevin experiences flashbacks and visions of the friends he lost. The faster he runs, the closer he feels to his lost friends.

1 Mile to You is an inspiring movie with an uplifting message. Although the movie involves running, training, and racing, it’s actually a drama about Kevin’s inner struggles and emotional conflicts. I enjoyed watching the movie; however, I feel the movie is confusing at points due to extraneous details that distract from the main story.

”Let’s get over there and dust those Germans, who think they’re better than us.” ~ Ralph Metcalfe Jr.

I watched a documentary on Hulu called Olympic Pride, American Prejudice. It tells the stories of the eighteen African Americans who represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin Germany. I was familiar with Jessie Owens, but the other seventeen athletes I knew nothing about. The documentary is very educational in that it covers the athletes’ personal experiences as well as historical background of the era.

”The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens.” ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived. After all, Number One, we're only mortal." ~ Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek Generations

Year 2017 Review

Running mileage for the year:—905.08 miles
Most mileage in a month: March—100.86 miles
Most mileage in a week: March 19-25—30.54 miles
Longest training run: February 25—11.32 miles
Hottest run: July 25—92° F, 56% humidity
Coldest run: January 7—15° F, 60% humidity

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." ~ Teddy Roosevelt

Always enjoy the inspirational quotes Joe especially the last one from the "Rough Rider", that even a man of such achievement as he could feel that way is heartening. What kind of stationary bike do you have, I've heard about these newfangled ones from Saris (Phantom 1) that look really awesome and cost more than some decent bicycles.

Always enjoy the inspirational quotes Joe especially the last one from the "Rough Rider", that even a man of such achievement as he could feel that way is heartening. What kind of stationary bike do you have, I've heard about these newfangled ones from Saris (Phantom 1) that look really awesome and cost more than some decent bicycles.

Thanks HanktheBank, I’m glad you enjoy the inspirational quotes. My stationary bike is a Stamina Fusion 7250. I don’t know how much it cost because I received it as a gift. As I recall it took about five hours to assemble. It has a digital display, preprogrammed workouts, and it measures my pulse rate. I like the bike, it’s adequate for my needs, but unfortunately it’s a recumbent style; not what I would have chosen if purchasing for myself. If I were going to buy a stationary bike I would have chosen an upright Schwinn Spin bike like they use in spinning classes. To me those seem much more like riding a real bike. I’m not familiar with the Saris (Phantom 1).